Peer Review

Summary

Creation of an Underground Rainwater Harvesting Tank at the Faith in Christ Primary School in Allentown/Freetown with more than 1200 beneficiaries.

Background

School has toilets and a spring down a sloppy hill near the mangroves. However, this water is of poor quality and is exhaustive to get. The spring gets polluted from trash lying at the hill and the wastewater coming from a big part of the village.

Location

Western Area,
Freetown,
Sierra Leone

Attachments

budget_f...

Focus

People Getting Safe Drinking Water:
1,200

720 students and 10 teachers at the school as well as about 500 people in the surrounding area are benefiting directly from the tank. Additionally the families of the children are indirect beneficiaries since the children suffer less from poor quality wat

School Children Getting Water:
720

People Getting Sanitation:
0

Drinking Water Project â€“ includes no sanitation issues

People Getting Other Benefits:

Application Type: Project Funding

Start Date: 2005-10-02

Completion Date: 2006-01-02

Technology Used:

Rain Water Harvesting Tank equipped with Indian Mark II hand pump and connections to the schools roof.

Phases:

Done in one phase

Community Organization:

A committee has been formed to supervise the usage of the tank. This committee consists of 9 persons including the headmaster of the school, a teachers representative, the Project Manager of Safer Future YDP and several community members.
The major role of the committee is to guarantee the longest life time for the tank and its hand pump and also to educate the community and the students how to handle their new water suppliant, as well as treat the water when it is necessary.

Government Interaction:

Ancillary activities:

Training of responsible people on how to treat chlorine the water and how to keep the well in good condition
Several Meetings were hold to ensure community ownership and committee building.

Other Issues:

Maintenance Revenue:

Usage Fees:
Students: 500 Le (20 US-Cent) per Term
Community-Members: 200 Le (8 US-Cent) for each bucket of Water

Fund Requested: $7,500

Implementing Organization:

Attachments

Community Engagement: committee members

Patricia Dandonoli of WaterAid

Thank you for your proposal submission. WaterAid would be interested in understanding how you will (or since this project has already been undertaken, how you did) select your committee members.

Thank you for your proposal submission. WaterAid would be interested in understanding how you will (or since this project has already been undertaken, how you did) select your committee members.

Idriss Kamara of Safer Future Youth Development Project

Before the actual construction takes place, there are several meetings with the community. First, we contact the headman, as immediate contact person to the community and to gather the meetings. During the meeting the committee is set up by the community itself. We just take care, that it consists of representatives of all various groups (...

Before the actual construction takes place, there are several meetings with the community. First, we contact the headman, as immediate contact person to the community and to gather the meetings. During the meeting the committee is set up by the community itself. We just take care, that it consists of representatives of all various groups (school, elders, youth, women,...)

Rating: 7

review by (only shown to members)

This application needs to address how the community will afford to chlorinate water and maintain the well. Would like to see sanitation education on not washing dishes with water from previous source.

Not Reviewed

by (only shown to members)

Rating: 6

review by (only shown to members)

WaterAid's guiding principles require us to look for solutions that are responsive to local needs, integrated (combining water, sanitation, and hygiene education providing the best health and poverty outcomes for poor communities), replicable, sustainable, and accountable.

With these guiding principles in mind, and given the scope of the four proposals WaterAid was asked to review, and the information provided in each proposals, we found the 10 school roof RWH systems in W. Bengal submitted by Barefoot College to be the most compelling of the three Rain Water Harvesting projects (10 School roof RWH systems in Assam also submitted by Barefoot College and RWHT Faith in Christ Primary School, Allentown/Freetown, Sierra Leone submitted by Safer Future being the other two projects). Water tables are dropping in many parts of India and water resources need to be managed carefully. Where groundwater is scarce, rainwater harvesting in schools and communities has been a successful supplement to other water sources.

CAREÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Ramal de Tierra Firme Project was unique in terms of its scale and scope compared with the other three proposals and the scope of WaterAidÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s current project work.